research project details
Project Title: A Technology Evaluation from Groundwater Remediation at Camp Edward, Massachusetts Military Reservation
Investigator(s): Fred Cannon
Sponsor: U.S. Filter Corporation
Environmental Problem Addressed:
Remediation of contaminated groundwater.
Research Project Objectives:
Various technologies suitable for remediating contaminated groundwater will be evaluated to identify one or two best technologies. Objectives of this research projects are to conduct laboratory-scale evaluations to:
- Evaluate the duration for which various activated carbons can remove perchlorate and nitro-organic contaminants from the Camp Edwards Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR) groundwater;
- Employ bituminous coal-based activated carbon, coconut shell activated carbon, and several organic cation-tailored activated carbon in these experiments; and use Rapid Small Scale Column Tests (RSSCT), which facilitate short operation times in the laboratory to mimic long durations at full-scale;
- From these laboratory results, coordinate with U.S. Filter Corporation in establishing the design framework and cost estimates for transferring the most favorable technology to full-scale operation.
Summary:
The Camp Edwards MMR, a 22,000-acre property that has been used for military training activities since 1911, is located over a sole source aquifer that provides drinking water for 200,000 year-round and 500,000 seasonal residents of Cape Cod. The site lies directly over the Sagamore Lens, which is a major groundwater recharge area and the most productive region of the Cape Cod aquifer.
The site has served as a crucial staging area for World War I through current Peace Keeping missions and National Guard training. In the process of serving this vital mission, the MMR has inadvertently released contaminats from ordnance shells that have migrated into the local groundwater. The site's groundwater is contaminated with perchlorate and the nitro-organic species Hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX), Octahyddro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX), 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT), 2-Amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene (2A-DNT), and 4-Amino-2,4-dinitrotoluene (4A-DNT).
The U.S. EPA issued an Administrative Order to the National Guard Bureau and the Massachusetts Army National Guard specifying that a series of Rapid Response Actions and remedial actions be implemented to protect groundwater at Camp Edwards Training Areas on the MMR. To comply with the Administrative Order, evaluations of technologies that will remediate soil and groundwater at the site are being performed.
Penn State Scope of Project:
Penn State laboratories have developed activated carbons that are specifically tailored to remove perchlorate from groundwater. The scope of this Penn State subcontract aims at evaluating the perchlorate removal performance of commercially available activated carbons and tailored activated carbons. The scope also addresses the performance of both the tailored and non-tailored activated carbons for removing the nitro-organic explosive species (RDX, HMX, TNT, DNT) that are present at the Camp Edwards site, while this same adsorbent also is removing perchlorate from the groundwater.
In these tests, Penn State researchers will appraise the removal performance for three water sources:
- Groundwater with quite low perchlorate levels but no nitro-organic contaminants;
- Groundwater with low concentrations of perchlorate; and
- Groundwater with moderately low concentrations of perchlorate and low concentrations of nitro-organic species.
The evaluation process will employ the RSSCT tests used in previous research projects.